FLYERS SHOW LINDROS SOME MONEY, BUT "NEITHER SIDE IS HAPPY"

Flyers C Eric Lindros signed a contract extension
Wednesday, "further setting $8.5 million and shorter-term
contracts as benchmarks for elite NHL players," according to
USA TODAY's Mike Brehm. Lindros' pay will rise from $3.75M
to $7.5M this season, and he'll make $8.5M next season, the
figure the Mighty Ducks' Paul Kariya agreed to last week for
'98-99. Agent Tom Laidlaw: "Not only were the numbers
pretty high, but the short term shocked a lot of people"
(USA TODAY, 12/18). In Philadelphia, columnist Bill Lyon:
"This is the sad and pathetic state of sports at the moment:
Almost $13 million changed hands in Philadelphia yesterday
and neither side is happy. The Flyers signed the player
they believe to be the very best in his sport for another
season, and yet his team's owner confessed to emotional
emptiness." Flyers Chair Ed Snider: "There is no
exhilaration" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 12/18).